Broken Dreams
by KimieArato
Summary: Tsunade has assigned an extremely long and difficult mission that will take up to two years to build up to.Naruto begins to noticed some strange changes in himself...During one mission dramatic health concern surprises everyone. SasuNaru
1. PrologueTwo years earlier

Prologue

When Tsunade finally walked in a hush fell over everyone. Her steady and evenly paced stride was the only noise that echoed in the room. As she came closer, everyone stood up respectfully. She nodded, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Everyone sat at the long rectangular table as she did. The meeting was unusually crowded this day, for Tsunade had called in many Jounin, Chuunin, and even _Genin_. She scanned the room quickly, to her right, sat many Jounin and Chuunin she knew…but could not tell you the names of, and to her left sat the Genin. She smiled as her eyes caught sight of familiar faces.

A scowling raven haired boy slouching in his chair, but still being respectful. To his right, sat a smiling bubble-gum haired female. Her green eyes sparkled and her posture upright. And to the left of the dark haired boy…the gleaming, whiskered cheeked blonde sitting eagerly at the edge of his chair. His teeth shown brightly across his face in a large smile. The closest to her sat…the gray haired Jounin. A mask covering his lower half of his face. Tsunade cleared her throat. Many Jounin and Chuunin raised their hands. Slowly…but surely.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm on a tight schedule so I will keep this brief." She looked at the men and women whose hands were up. "I know many of you must have millions of questions…but I _won't_ answer them so, **shut up**." The hands quickly shot back down with out any delay.

"I've called all of you hear today for a very important message. Now, we all know that there has been an unreasonable amount of Anbu from the village adjacent to us that have been seen roaming our village. Our resources tell us that they are planning to sabotage our allied pact with the Hidden Mist Village. This I cannot allow. We have worked for too long to obtain that pact. My plan is to slowly infiltrate their own village and receive as much info as we can on their plans. This mission will be a long one….and an extremely dangerous one. I cannot say how many of you will be injured…or even be killed. But this is what you're trained to do."

"For the next two years, our mission will unfold and come into action. Until then I will be sending random groups on what I call 'miny missions'" She took a breath in. Waiting for her words to sink into the ninja. She heard a small snicker. Her eyes flickered over to the once anxious blonde. Naruto Uzimake.

He had his hand cupped over his mouth…suppressing a loud laugh. Tsunade cleared her throat. "Something the matter…_Naruto_" She stressed his name to an unneeded extent. All eyes darted toward him. He froze at the sudden attention. His voice broke on the first syllable. "Well….It's just that…" a smirked crossed his whiskered face. "I can't really take this mission so seriously when you say…s-say…" He shuddered and snorted…holding in another laugh, "_'miny missions!'_" Tsunade perched her lips and furrowed her brow. As she crossed her arms across her chest she heard other silent chuckles. A long sigh breezed past her lips.

"Even the Hokage herself doesn't get any respect…" She said to herself, but loudly enough for Naruto and everyone else to hear. She closed her eyes…then soon opened one, looking in Naruto's direction. He gave her an apologetic smile. With a nod, she cleared her throat yet again.

"If any changes or halts come across us in this large mission…I will contact all of you immediately. Now if you will excuse me…I have some business I need to attend to." With this she turned around and left the room her brunette secretary following closely behind. Many Ninja left the room, muttering to each other on how this mission was a complete waste of time. Kakashi stood up from his chair and looked at his students.

"You three _do_ realize how hard I'm gonna have to work you now right?" a part on his masked creased revealing that he had a smile on his face. His three students looked up at him. There was a moment of silence.

"Alright! This is gonna be so sweet!" Naruto jumped out of his chair and began to climb on the table. "I'm gonna go on so many missions and kick butt! Then when those two years finally pass by…I will be so strong that I will take out that whole village!" His knee was on the table but before he could climb anymore a pale hand grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him down. It was Sasuke Uchiha. "Siddown Dobe!" His words slurred a bit.

Naruto pouted and narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. He glared back. Sakura…the pink haired Genin, could feel the atmosphere in the room becoming cloudy. "C-C'mon guys. Let's just go. It's our day off right? So let's take this time to go have fun…before we get worked like dogs...right _Kakashi?" _She looked over her shoulder…Kakashi had left already. She sighed. The three walked out of the room. Sasuke and Naruto walked nose to nose glaring and yelling at each other, and Sakura walked to the side of them giggling at their immaturity.

Sakura had been right…yes. They **were** going to have to work hard over the years on this dangerous mission. But none of them, especially Naruto, knew what _kinds_ of difficulties they had to overcome. Thus….the story begins.


	2. Just The Beginning

Chapter one

_Two Years Later_

The morning sun hung high in the late afternoon sky. The day was peaceful. The birds' chirping was the only sound to be heard. The only sound that is until…

"Naruto I'm gonna** KILL** you!" The voice pierced the once silent streets of Konoha. The laughing blonde ran through the village with an infuriated Uchiha hot on his tail. The two teenagers ran recklessly, bumping into the scattered villagers and random objects that got in their way. Naruto shouted over his shoulder, "C'mon Sasuke-teme don't be so mad! All I said was-"

"Don't even _repea_t it Naruto!" Sasuke cut him off. They both cut around a corner quick. Their shoes skidding against the pavement. Naruto looked over his shoulder again, but this time his foot caught a rock on the ground sending him staggering forward. Sasuke took this advantage and pounced…more like, tackled Naruto. They both fell to the ground. Sasuke pinned Naruto's wrists to the ground. He sat next to Naruto with his knees tucked under him. Their breathing both equally heavy…they _had_ been running an awful long time.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and smiled. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Take it back…" he said in a low, threatening voice. Naruto winked and stuck out his tongue. "_If_ I'm wrong…then why did you blush when I said it?!" He spoke in a playful tone. Sasuke's eye twitched, tightening his grip on Naruto's wrists. Naruto winced a bit. Sasuke rolled his eyes…knowing he had not hurt Naruto. This is when Sasuke realized the crowd beginning to form around them. His eyes shifted from left to right. He let go of Naruto and got up in a hurry. Naruto jumped up and dusted himself off. Surprisingly…his breathing had not returned to its normal pace. Sasuke shot one last glare at Naruto before turning to leave. With his fists clenched, he stomped off.

Naruto couldn't sustain a laugh. _"Well that sure was interesting. All I said was 'you're staring at my butt'" _He thought to himself. Turning on his heel, Naruto started walking back to his own apartment. He walked with his hands behind his head in a lounge position. His trademark smile shown brightly across his whiskered face.

When he finally opened to door to his apartment, the smile seemed to have been swiped off his face. He walked unsteadily to his couch, where he flopped right onto his back. He groaned at his sudden dizziness. His breathing was still a little uneasy. Rubbing his temples he muttered to himself, "Why does this always happen?!" He placed his hand over his heart, feeling the 'off-beats'. "Every time I exercise or run…" He stopped talking. Feeling a migraine coming, he walked into his kitchen to boil some ramen.

He crouched down and opened the cabinet to get out the silver pot, filled it with water and placed it on the stove. He placed his hand on the knob but didn't do anything. Silenced fill the kitchen. His eyes were set on the now still water in the pot. Although it was the room that was silenced, loud thoughts raced through his mind.

_"Why would Sasuke get all ticked from something like that? What time is the mission tomorrow? Darn! I forgot. Gosh…my chest hurts. Is there something I can take for that? Wasn't I supposed to watch Akimaru today for Kiba? Man, why does Sasuke keep popping up in my head?...why am I thinking to myself?!" _

He shook his head, as if too shake the thoughts away. He pinched the knob and turned it to medium temperature and ran his hand through his blonde locks, they pounced right back into place when his hand left his head. As he walked, every footstep seemed to echo loudly in his head. Then he soon came to realize it wasn't his footsteps, but his pulse was pounding in his temples. He groaned. "Oh no….I'm not in the _mood_ for a headache." He said weakly. It was strange. It seemed as if every time he were to work out …or work his _body _for that matter, he became very weak and had sharp pains everywhere. He had gotten used to it as it developed late into last year and half the time he would just pretend nothing was wrong with him while he was in front of Sasuke…**oh** and everybody else! But the pains, now, were becoming almost unbearable.

By this time of the day, Kakashi would have his students working to the bone, but today he decided to give them a little break…and Naruto was grateful for that.

Naruto was in his room now, changing into more comfortable clothes. If it was his afternoon off…he was going to make the most of it!

Meanwhile, as Naruto calmed himself down and enjoying a bowl of ramen…then six more, Sasuke was at his own house with a slightly _different _thing on his mind.

"Damn…why did I let myself get so riled up?" The raven haired Uchiha nervously paced back and forth in his own house. Naruto had thought what he said was just a joke but to Sasuke…it was embarrassingly the truth. Sasuke had noticed he was starting to 'eye' Naruto more often throughout the two years of training. Everyday when Kakashi had the three Genin on a task, he would find himself unconsciously staring at Naruto. More than often it ended up as Naruto shifting his eyes towards Sasuke…and Sasuke would quickly dodge the eye contact, for fear of blushing. Sasuke resented himself for developing these kinds of feelings. But there was nothing he could do about them. What's there is there. He had decided just to live with it and learn to avoid Naruto as much as possible. This task seemed almost _impossible_ because as the cruel reality of fate would have it, Naruto and Sasuke were assigned one last 'miny mission' together tomorrow morning before the big operation began.

The only relieving thing about the mission was that they had to bring some kind of medic…and as luck would have it this time, Sakura was highly trained in that area. Sasuke could hold his normal scowl if she were around.

He stopped his pacing and stared the pale living room wall. He bit his lower lip in thought. _"If I want to keep my feelings a secret…then why am I sort of disappointed that Sakura is coming?" _He shook his head, becoming angry at himself again. He crossed his arms and pulled his shirt over his head and threw it over the arm rest on his sofa. He pulled his arm over his chest, stretching his sore muscles.

"I think I must have strained my arms some weird way when I tackled Naruto." He muttered to himself. He let a small smile cross his pastel lips at the memory he was sure not to forget. Sasuke found it rather hard to forget anything that had to do with coming in contact with Naruto's flawless body. His sun kissed skin…smooth and clear of outbreaks. His-

"Shut up Narrator! Stop detailing Naruto!" Sasuke said breaking the forth wall. (Hah…I amuse myself…) Sasuke let a large sigh pass his lips as he slumped onto his sofa. He lay long wise, his feet on one arm rest; his head on the other. He placed his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he thought about the mission that would come in the morning. As Sasuke lay picturing the mission, Naruto was still in his own kitchen…stomaching what seemed like his fourteenth bowl of ramen.

After about a half hour of contemplating the mission Sasuke had finally made up his mind. He sighed, sat up and clenched his fists. "Ok. Tomorrow, on the mission, is the perfect chance to get some alone time with Naruto. So I will tell him to follow me further ahead but in reality we will be ditching Sakura! It's almost too easy!" Sasuke let out a long laugh but stop abruptly, surprised by his giddiness. He cleared his throat and changed back into a lounging position. He closed his eyes and smiled. "_Tomorrow is going to be… almost too good to be true." _

Sasuke stood with his shoulders slumped and his eyes wide. Naruto and Sakura had met up with him at their usual meeting place. Only…Kakashi, Kiba, Neji, Ino _and_ Lee where there too. Sasuke cringed inside. Oh how he **_hated_** the cruelty of fate.


	3. Chapter 3: Mission Mishap

**Chapter 2**

Mission Mishap

So here they were. The once three man mission…turned into a group assignment. Sasuke felt like thrashing around screaming and complaining and whining, although he would never because, well, just because. Naruto on the other hand was gleaming. He always loved these group missions because it was where he could show off to Sakura and Ino. Showing them how much _cooler _he was than Sasuke.

Kakashi, being appointed the mission leader, welcomed Sasuke with a wave. Sasuke nodded, still putting on an act of being totally cool with all the people. The white haired leader cleared his throat,

"Okay. If we are all ready then let's get to it." The ninjas all leaped up into the trees with such speed that, too the untrained eye, seemed as if they vanished all together.

(I'm gonna save some time by just skipping to…them like halfway to their destination. Which means like….20 minutes of running…I guess…?)

The group ran gracefully through the trees. Making almost no sound as their feet smoothly pounced against the thick branches. Kakashi spoke only when necessary. Kiba loudly bickered with Neji, trying to win over the pale eyed boy's approval of dating Hinata. Sakura was obviously trying to avoid the drooling Rock Lee. Ino was secretly (well…not really…it was pretty obvious too) dying to talk to Sasuke, who looked straight ahead…although, chancing a few glances at the blonde whom he secretly lusted after.

Ino casually hopped to Sasuke side. Her eyes quickly shifting away when Sasuke's darted her way. She felt her cheeks warm up. "Uh…S-Sasuke?"

No answer.

"I was wondering…" She paused trying to gain the courage to speak to the God-like Chuunin. (Did I mention that they are all Chuunin now? No? Oh well…now you know.) The two ran in silence. Breaking the silence, Sasuke yelled out.

"This is taking too long. C'mon pick up the pace people!" with saying this, Sasuke fastened his pace, completely ignoring Ino. Poor Ino, her feelings of love with never be acknowledged by Sasuke. (AND I MEAN NEVER!!)

The other Chuunin…and Kakashi silently agreed to what Sasuke had said and also picked up the pace. Though it would seem that one Ninja was struggling with an internal conflict. Naruto clenched his eyes tight as he trudged onward.

Sasuke, being angry with the whole mission, yelled out again. "Lets GO!" he pushed forward yet again, almost leaving everyone behind. But, like before, they followed. And Naruto, still…struggling.

Sasuke was ready to yell one more time when an ear-piercing scream was let out by Sakura. "**NARUTO!"** Upon hearing this name being spoken, Sasuke immediately stopped in his tracks, almost tripping over the weak branch he landed on. He steadied his balance by placing his hand on the tree trunk.

Quickly turning his head to see why Sakura had screamed Naruto's name, oh so desperately. His dark eyes widened in horror as they watched an unconscious Naruto falling fast towards the ground.

You see, Sasuke had been too focused on his running, but Naruto had abruptly stopped running with his shoulders slightly slouched. His eyes were wide. Sakura stopped as well on another tree and watched in wonder as Naruto quickly clutched his shirt with one hand and squeezed the tree with the other. She screamed his name when she saw his blue eyes droop and his body became limp. He lost consciousness and lost his footing and was falling right towards the ground.

This is where we find the Chuunin…and Kakashi….now. Everyone saw Naruto, their eyes wide as well. Lee thought quickly and was about to rush over to catch him. But to his surprise, before he could even ready himself to run, a certain Uchiha was already there, roughly catching the unconscious blonde. They landed on a lower, but still strong, branch. Sasuke bottom was sure going to be sore in the morning.

They all kept their distance, frozen in shock at what just happened. More than shock…confusion. Why did Naruto all of a sudden collapse like that? Sakura was pulled out of her own daze when Sasuke's desperate voice yelled for her aid. She blinked once or twice and hurriedly came to Sasuke's side. The next thing she saw was sure to make her lose sleep over. It was the look on Sasuke's face.

It was almost impossible to explain but the usually emotionless face of Sasuke Uchiha was now filled with worry, desperation, sadness, confusion….

Basically….he didn't look too good. Sakura gulped then knelt down beside the worried-looking Uchiha. She placed her index and middle finger under Naruto's chin. Her eyes widened. "H-he's got no pulse. We need to get him to a doctor quick!"

As Sakura spoke these words, Sasuke felt as if his body went numb. He no longer felt the weight of Naruto in his arms. He sat on his knees, dumbstruck, as Kakashi rushed over and took Naruto from him. He let the blonde slip from his weakened grip, his fingers smoothly gliding over his body.

"I'll get him to the hospital, everyone carry out the rest of the mission!" Kakashi said as he laid Naruto over his shoulder and made a hand sign with his free arm. In a cloud of smoke, Kakashi disappeared. Everyone grouped around Sakura and Sasuke, who was still sitting, saying nothing.

The first to speak up was the, ever so timid…., Lee. "So, shall we continue the mission as Kakashi has instructed?" Sakura looked at Sasuke then shifted her gaze to Lee, who shrugged. She let out a long sigh. Something wasn't right here. Sasuke wasn't acting like himself…in a sense anyway. Sakura knew there was something she didn't know, and seeing as how Sasuke was reacting just now…it made it clear.

…her eyes widened. _"C-could it be that...Sasuke….is in…l-l-lo-lo" _She couldn't get herself to even **think **the word. Shaking her head, to rid the thoughts from her already confused mind, she stood up and cleared her throat.

"I'm worried about Naruto. The mission can be postponed." She looked at Sasuke. He stood up slowly and dusted himself off. Everyone stared at him for a couple moments, trying to read his emotions…but they all failed. His face was frozen in his icy glare, as usual. Akimaru, who was on Kiba's shoulder, barked and leaped onto Sasuke's. This caused everyone to raise an eyebrow. Akimaru was loyal to Kiba and never left his side, no matter what the situation.

The white dog nuzzled Sasuke and let out a small whimper as if saying "There, there." Sasuke picked up the dog and held him out in front of him. _"No fair Akimaru. You dogs can sense emotions!" _He thought. After giving Akimaru back to Kiba, who was still confused of all the events that just happened; Sasuke cleared his throat and said matter-of-factly,

"Let's go back. This mission wasn't even important anyway." Everyone nodded in agreement and the ninja all disappeared in clouds of smoke.

There was a noise. A soothing erythematic noise. A steady beeping noise. It was a heart rate monitor. Naruto's eyes fluttered open, revealing a plain white ceiling, white walls and white sheets. White sheets? Where was he? Naruto's eyes scanned the room, although the room was almost dark the moons rays sent a whitewashed light that streamed through the room. _"Where am I?" _He thought as he slowly lifted himself into a sitting postion. He let out a small groan upon feeling his sudden weakness.

"You're finally awake, dobe." A low voice that broke on the first word surprised Naruto, causing him to flinch. His pulse slowed when he realized who the voice belonged too.

"Sasuke-teme! Don't call me that!" Naruto puckered his lips in a pout, but soon smiled at the long-time inside joke. He heard Sasuke let out a brief chuckle. There was a silence. But it was awkward. It was one of those "needed silences."

The silence wasn't awkward…no, but Naruto's impatience grew to overcome him. "What am I doing here Sasuke? Is this the hospital? Where is everybody? What about the mission? Why is-"

"_**Naruto**!"_ Sasuke's sudden harsh tone caught Naruto off guard. He closed his mouth and lowered his eyes apologetically. Sasuke, realizing how he had sounded, lowered his eyes too. Another silence.

Sasuke sighed. _"This is getting nowhere." _He looked up at Naruto who was staring right at Sasuke. Sasuke could feel his cheeks warm. The look in Naruto's pale blue eye's almost caused the inner "fangirl" in Sasuke to emerge…but he concealed that urge. Because…well, just because. (If you can't tell, I'm gonna use that phrase sometimes…because, I like it! Heh)

"Naruto...I uh, don't really know how to say this but…" Sasuke started speaking. It was true, he really _didn't _know how to break the news to Naruto, but he had too, he was the one who had to tell him…everyone voted.

Naruto shifted in his bed. The pure white sheets rustled. "Sasuke…what do you have to tell me? Is…is this about me blacking out?" Naruto said in almost a whisper.

"Blacking out? Naruto…you almost…"

"It's been going on for a while now. So I didn't know it meant so much. I honestly didn't mind the pain. You see I-"

"Naruto you…you see, your heart is...well…it's not in the greatest condition."

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"The pain you spoke of…did it come…after exercising or running or being active?"

"…yeah…why…"

Silence.

"S-Sasuke!? What? What is it? What's wrong with me!?!"


End file.
